1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to windows and, more particularly, relates to a window that is configured for permanent mounting in an opening in an exterior wall of a dwelling or other building and that projects inwardly into the interior of the building so as to bring the outdoors into the building in a true physical sense.
2. Background of the Invention
Building designers frequently incorporate structures in both commercial and residential buildings to bring elements of the outdoors into working or living spaces. For instance, skylights, sunrooms, atriums, etc., are being used with increasing frequency and in a variety of settings. Large picture windows, bay windows, and bow windows are also increasingly commonplace. All of these structures are designed to permit natural light to enter the building. Many are also designed to permit occupants of the building to view flora and fauna located outside of the building. This latter goal is especially important in applications in which occupants of the building do not have ready access to natural outdoor attractions, either because the occupants cannot readily leave the building and/or because natural attractions are not readily accessible from the building due to its location. These applications include nursing homes, elderly care facilities, schools, libraries, buildings located in cold climates, high rise buildings, and even low rise buildings in urban settings.
A serious drawback of virtually all structures of the type described above is that they do not bring nature indoors in a true physical sense. They instead present a glass or other transparent partition that isolates the exterior of the building from nature. In the case of atriums, skylights, traditional windows, etc., this partition is at least generally coplanar with the exterior surface of the building. In the case of bow windows and bay windows, the partition is disposed outwardly of the outer surface of the building. Hence, birds, plants, small animals, and other natural attractions are not allowed to venture into the confines of the outer shell of the building. Occupants of the building therefore can view these attractions from only a relatively long distance. In most cases, the occupant also cannot access the interior of the structures from within the building in order to replenish food, water plants, clean or refill accessories, etc. They instead must venture outside of the buildingxe2x80x94an impossibility for infirm persons and/or for high rise occupants and other persons for whom the outside of the structure is simply inaccessible.
Attempts have been made to alleviate at least some of the problems addressed above. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,167 to Soley discloses a bird feeder kit configured for mounting within a window so as to attract birds to a location that is easily viewed from within a building and so as to permit the feeder to be filled, cleaned, etc. from within the building. The bird feeder includes a frame and a viewing enclosure that is mounted in the frame. The frame is configured to be removably mounted in an existing window opening. The viewing enclosure has a transparent window portion that supports a bird feeder within it and that is pivotally mounted on the frame so that an occupant of the building can selectively pivot the bird feeder into the building for refilling or cleaning purposes.
While the bird feeder disclosed in the Solely patent has advantages over standard windows and the like, it does not solve all of the problems of those earlier structures and presents additional problems of its own. For instance, because it is configured to be supplied as a kit that is mountable in an existing window opening in a retrofit structure, it is necessarily relatively small in length, height, and depth. The size constraints, and particularly the depth constraints, considerably reduce the ability of occupants of a building to view feeding birds. In fact, any occupant other than one sitting directly in front of the viewing enclosure is unlikely to be able to view feeding birds. It is also relatively flimsy, easy to inadvertently displace, and poorly insulated. Moreover, the entire arrangement is configured solely for use as a bird feeder and, accordingly, cannot bring plants, animals, or other aspects of nature indoors. It also is not well-suited for cooperation with other internal building structures such as cabinets, etc.
The need therefore has arisen to provide a permanent, sturdy structure that is configured to be mountable in an opening of a building so as to bring nature into the building in a true physical sense.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a window is configured to bring nature into the interior of a building in a true physical sense. A preferred window includes a frame configured to be permanently mounted to a perimeter of an opening in an exterior wall of the building, an at least partially open exterior surface that is configured to be located outwardly of the interior surface of the wall and to face the outdoors, an interior surface that is positioned inwardly of the interior surface of the wall to form an inwardly projecting alcove between the interior and exterior surfaces of the window, and a base and a top, each of which extends from the opening to the interior surface. The interior surface is preferably formed from a plurality of interconnected sashes, at least some of which may be operable to provide access to the interior of the window from within the building. The interior of the window may contain accessories that may be mounted on the window using a convenient universal bracket that facilitates positioning of the accessories in the window and removal of the accessories for cleaning or maintenance.
Preferably, the window includes a sill, a head jam, and/or other components formed from a relatively smooth, wipeable material. The window may additionally be supported on the building by at least one of a) a stand located adjacent the interior surface of the wall and attached to the base and b) a strut attached to the interior surface of the building and to one of the base and the top. If the base is supported on a stand, the stand may also perform a secondary function such as to serve as a cabinet.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a bracket usable with a window of the type described or other structures includes a base configured for attachment to the window and a support arm having i) a first end portion that is attachable to the base, ii) a second end portion that is configured to support an accessory, and iii) a body portion that leads from the first end portion to the second end portion. The body portion preferably is bent through an angle of approximately 90xc2x0. In order to facilitate orientation or reorientation of the bracket and the mounted accessory, the first end portion of the arm may be is pivotally mountable on the base.
The bracket preferably additionally includes an accessory mount on which the accessory can be mounted and which is slidably mountable onto the second end portion of the arm.